Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.

Sarah Palin’s Alaska (Team Blue): Lox of love

Tonight’s episode was a bit of a mind-freak. For the first time in this short series, we didn’t see Sarah glued to her Blackberry. We didn’t hear anything about life under the paparazzi’s gaze. There was no mention of being persecuted by the media. There was no vilification of the evil reporter next door. In fact, if this was your first time seeing or hearing anything about Sarah Palin, you’d have no idea she was almost a heartbeat away from running the country. You’d have no clue how many newspapers she reads a day. (All of them!) The image of a pitbull slathered in Covergirl crimson red lipstick would never cross your mind. You may never even consider that you could be watching our next President.

For a moment, I was completely removed from thinking about this as a political affair. Instead, I saw a likable woman with her beautiful family doing storied work in a place that’s just as foreign to me as Kathmandu or Kilimanjaro.

It’s odd to take a step back and think about this show like some of the other voyeuristic exercises on the TLC schedule. (Think Little People, Big World or Sister Wives.) Those are shows about unique families just doing what they do, with the small exception of being followed by a camera crew to allow the viewer a glimpse at another kind of life. It makes me wonder, if I were to watch this show under those conditions, would I actually find myself liking Sarah Palin?

The point is nearly moot. You can’t shake the way she made “community organizer” a dirty word. You can’t swallow all the bile that arose watching the RNC speech and keynote at the Tea Party Convention. You can’t unsee Tina Fey’s SNL parodies. You can’t just put that genie back in the bottle.

And so it follows, that you can’t make a show around a woman with continued political aspirations and expect folks to separate all that from this supposed postcard to Alaska. That’s been my struggle to watch it all along. Try as they may to sell it as a politically-agnostic exercise, but there’s no way to take the politics out of Palin.

However, tonight was a good reminder for both sides of the political spectrum: You can disagree with/not support someone without hating them. And you can believe someone isn’t the best choice for the highest office in the land without thinking they’re a bad person.

Tonight we journeyed to Bristol Bay, where the Palins drop net and fish for salmon. They’re staying with Todd’s grandmother, so that’s five generations of Palins under one roof, including Bristol’s baby Tripp. In case you forgot, Todd is part Inuit Yup’ik. Oh, you didn’t forget? I can see how that happened since they kept reminding us.

It’s a big summer for the family as eldest son Track is getting ready to assume Todd’s prime fishing spot at the North of the bay. There’s of course a little tension transitioning power from father to son, but no real conflict to speak of. It’s a very typical family dynamic with Todd reluctant to relinquish complete control and Track feeling undermined by his father’s persistent corrections.

It’s completely foreign to me to think of my family’s survival being dependent on that season’s catch and Mother Nature’s whims. At the same time, I think we can all relate to the idea of a hard-working family, whether it’s a teacher working late giving students extra help, a small-business owner spending weekends at the office to maintain income or a police officer grabbing any overtime they can get. I respect the Palins’ history of working to support themselves (though I doubt they’ve been dependent on the salmon haul to put food on the table since Sarah got into politics), but let’s not forget that working the nets is no more admirable than working as, say, a community organizer. Hard work is hard work, and I’m glad the Palins understand what most American families have to go through to keep the lights on.

Additionally, Sarah and Todd’s daughter Willow is celebrating her sweet 16 while visiting her great-grandmother and there’s not a Hummer or performance from Lil’ Wayne or any other trapping of a Super Sweet 16 in sight. Just the family, gutting salmon and eating homemade cake. It was sweet, really.

The most interesting scene was Sarah and daughter Piper’s trip to visit Todd’s cousin Ina at her fish camp. It’s a small fishing settlement that catches their livelihood, strings it up, smokes it, and all without the modern comforts of internet and cell phones. If you were looking for a real interesting look into authentic Alaska living, Ina’s camp might make a better choice than the Palin compound, with its 14-foot lamestream-media-blocking fence, satellite Fox News studio and constant Blackberry-friendly 3G access. Just saying.

More notably, Sarah visited with her nephew Matthew, who, like her son Trig, has Down Syndrome. It’s easy to get distracted chuckling at all the “You betcha!” and refudiating to forget that Sarah is a mother, and one with additional unique challenges. She spoke about her choice to have her child after finding out he would be born with Down Syndrome, and we learned Ina didn’t have that foreknowledge. It’s not up to me or you or Ina or anyone to critique Sarah’s choice, but I think we can all agree that Trig is very lucky to have a mother who clearly loves him very much and can provide a nurturing and comfortable environment for him. It was genuinely touching to see her choke up after spending time with Matthew. It was also really moving to see Todd spending quality time with Trig out on the swing outside his grandmother’s house.

Snark as I may at Sarah, I would never call her a bad parent, even before this episode. It was a refreshing experience to spend some time watching her and not walk away furious. She may never get my vote, but, when it comes to being a mom, she does have my respect.

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.